The 90's, my other favourite decade in music....so much promise in the early years, with the movement of commercial radio towards the truly alternative and avant garde, so much great music, and then finally such a crash and burn as the pendulum swung dramatically back towards the safe, the banal, the saccharine, and worse.

In my mind, the majority if not all of the great songs of the decade, the commercial ones anyway, came from the first half. Of course, as we've seen in my previous choices, I clearly have my pulse on the CBC panels (&*!*^&). Then again, Derek's dire warning of the chick factor in the 90's panel has me nervous (chick music in the 90's?) I'm a big guessing-tub-of-goo.

CBC list (wish me luck. I like beer, and I don't like giving it away).

(1) Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit
(2) Smashing Pumpkins - Today
(3) James - Laid (the guy wore a dress the time I saw them, and the chicks all thought that was cool)
(4) Sinead - Nothing Compares 2 U (full-on chick)
(5) Beck - Loser (similar to myself)

If Sarah Mclachlan is on the list I'll be pissed on many levels. I also gave some consideration to the Blind Melon song - the 90's was all about the dead guys. Anyone willing to consider half marks for getting the band right (and the song wrong)?

My 5 fave choices - these are a bit random mind you:

(1) Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit. Sure it's predictable but...come on!

(2) Pavement - Goldsoundz. So brilliant and bang on for me I can't begin to describe.

(3) Sebadoh - Think. Got me way excited about lo fi. This one's for my sensitive side. I also love most of Bakesale, but this song is special.

(4) Yo La Tengo- Sugarcube. Thrilling mix of noise and melody that takes Sonic Youth's poppy instincts and runs with it. From maybe the best album of the 90's (excl. Pavement).

(5) Elliot Smith - Bled White. My favourite song by this saddest of song writers (oh yeah, he's dead too), and actually one of his most accessible. The imagery is wonderful and moving. Extra marks for being one I still listen to a lot.

I guess that's it, though there was actually a twenty-way tie for fifth. That makes twenty-six, Stu. Most sincere regrets to the Posies (Flavour of the Month); Hayden (Trees Lounge); Superchunk (Driveway to Driveway), Sloan (Coax Me), Hole (Violet), Eleventh Dream Day (Motherland), The Breeders (Cannonball); Liz Phair (Never Said); Juliana Hatfield (Feeling Massachussets plus plus); Treble Charger (Red), Pavement (most of the rest of their canon but particularly Grounded, Elevate Me Later, Silence Kit, Summer Babe)...and a whole pile of others.